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Home Prices Still Accelerating

Youngstown-Warren-Boardman: Tops Least Expensive U.S. Markets

Home prices showed strong growth in the final quarter of 2015, despite a slowing sales, according to a new quarterly report released by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) this week. Source: National Association of REALTORS®

The five most expensive housing metro areas in the fourth quarter of 2015 were:

San Jose, Calif.: $940,000 (the median existing single-family home price)

Global equity sell off heightens market unease.

Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) for the week ending January 7, 2016, showing mortgage rates mixed with the 30-year fixed-rate falling back below four percent to start the year.

INTERESTing Facts:

30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.97 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending January 7, 2016, down from last week when it averaged 4.01 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.73 percent.

15-year FRM this week averaged 3.26 percent with an average 0.5 point, up from 3.24 percent last week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.05 percent.

5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.09 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.08 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.98 percent.

Pending Home Sales Decline in November

First time buyers likely to face headwinds of affordability

as mortgage rates creep higher and supply remains limited.

Pending home sales in November slightly declined for the third time in four months as buyers continue to battle both rising home prices and limited homes available for sale, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Modest gains in the Midwest and South were offset by larger declines in the Northeast and West.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, decreased 0.9 percent to 106.9 in November from an upwardly revised 107.9 in October but is still 2.7 percent above November 2014 (104.1). Although the index has increased year-over-year for 15 consecutive months, last month’s annual gain was the smallest since October 2014 (2.6 percent).

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says November’s dip in contract activity continues the modestly slowing trend seen ever since pending sales peaked to an over nine year high back in May.

“Home prices rising too sharply in several markets, mixed signs of an economy losing momentum and waning supply levels have acted as headwinds in recent months despite low mortgage rates and solid job gains,” he said. “While feedback from Realtors® continues to suggest healthy levels of buyer interest, available listings that are move-in ready and in affordable price ranges remain hard to come by for many would-be buyers.”

According to Yun, with existing housing inventory already below year ago levels and new home construction still deficient, it’s likely supply constraints and faster price appreciation will reappear once the spring buying season begins.

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a predicting sales indicator based on contract signings, inched 0.2 percent to 107.7 in October from an upwardly revised 107.5 in September and is now 3.9 percent above October 2014 (103.7). The index has increased year-over-year for 14 consecutive months. Continue reading →

RE/MAX National Housing Report for November, 2015

What? You mean summer’s gone?

Following the hottest summer selling season in years, October home sales cooled down 7.7% below sales in September, and 0.8% lower than October 2014. October and January were the only two months of the year that saw lower home sales than the same month last year.

“We’ve seen a very strong demand for homes in 2015 despite the continuing challenges of low inventory. Demand is mostly due to the slowly improving economy and a more favorable employment situation. October’s moderation of price increases is typical this time of year and actually offers home buyers a little better affordability.” Dave Liniger, RE/MAX CEO, Chairman of the Board and Co-Founder

Homes bought during these years are equity challenged…

… and these homeowners are reluctant to put them on the market, adding to existing-home inventory shortages in many cities.

“Those who bought their homes 8 to 10 years ago — 2005 to 2007, at the height of the real estate bubble — have gained almost no equity in that time, an average of just $3,000 or 1%,” said Jessica Lautz, the NAR’s managing director of survey research and communication.

Ms. Lautz suggests that this group of homeowners are hesitant to market their unprofitable homes, even though they may want or need to make a house trade. This fact could be contributing to existing-home inventory shortages around the country.

This is in distinct contrast to those who bought in 2009 and after, and have been cashing out the home equity they’ve gained during the housing recovery, especially over the past three years.

VIDEO

Voice for Real Estate 34: Upstream, Crowdfunding

What the heck is UPSTREAM?

Top stories for the week of Nov. 9, 2015:

An initiative to make it easier to manage and control listing data gets underway as NAR, RPR, and UpstreamRE sign an agreement to work together. UPSTREAM is intended to help brokers of all sizes and business models, and all MLSs and associations succeed.

a look at the potential of “crowdfunding” in boosting real estate sales and leasing,

Podcast

Real Estate Today Radio

Tune in to this week’s show, “Millennials!”

Real Estate Today opens doors for buyers and sellers with critical and credible information on the real estate market. It’s fast paced and fact packed with experts, interviews, call-ins, field reports, and timely market conditions. The program is moderated by Gill Gross, an award winning radio journalist who has reported the news to millions of Americans.

What the heck is a “Millennial” anyway? We had Generation X– who by the way are who are 35 to 50 years old this year–and then we were waiting for Generation Y, or Gen Y for short. But now all anybody talks about are The Millennials. Well, it turns out they are the same group of people, but the term Gen Y went the way of the Nintendo 64. It barely exists anymore.

But the term Millennials stuck. It gets tossed around a lot! Whether we’re talking about what Millennials like to eat, what they wear, their work habits, or their internet habits. Millennials are generally considered to be the generation of young adults born between 1980 and 1997 – currently ages 18 to 35. According to the Pew Research Center, they are projected to reach a population of MORE THAN 75,000,000 Americans this year.

Average Price Gain of $40,658 Highest Since Q3 2007

“home owners cashing out the home equity they’ve gained during the housing recovery of the past three years. -REALTYTRAC”

RealtyTrac® released its September and Q3 2015 U.S. Home Sales Report, which shows that homeowners who sold during the third quarter realized an average price gain of $40,658 (17 percent) from the purchase price of their property, the highest average price gain for home sellers since the third quarter of 2007. Sellers in the third quarter on average had owned their home for 6.72 years when they sold.

“An increasing number of home owners in 2015 have been cashing out the home equity they’ve gained during the housing recovery of the past three years,” says Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “That may be a good decision because the data points to a plateauing market going forward. Home price appreciation is slowing, a trend that will continue if interest rates rise in the coming months as expected. Meanwhile the threat of rising interest rates combined with lowered premiums for buyers using FHA loans is spurring more demand.”

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